Plate-metal railroad cross-tie



(No Model.)

W. H. DUTTON. PLATE METAL RAILROAD (moss TIE.

No. 435,806. Patented Sept. 2. 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVALTER ll. DUTTON, OF EAST BE'll-IANY, NE\V YORK.

PLATE-METAL RAILROAD CROSS-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,806, datedSeptember 2, 1890.

Application filed January 16, 1890. Serial No. 337,042. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER HERBERT DUT- TON, of East Bethany, in thecounty of Genesee and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulPlate-Metal Railroad Cross- Tie, of which the followingis a full, clear,and exact description.

The objects of my invention are to produce a light, strong, and durablerailroad-tie from plate metal, and provide the same with efficient meansto retain track-rails in position thereon.

To these ends my invention consists in the construction and combinationof parts, as hereinafter described, and indicated in the claims.

Reference is to be had to theaceompanying drawings, forminga part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a metal tie embodying the improvementsand portions of track-rails secured thereon. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section of the device, taken on the line 2 2 in Fig.1. Fig. 3is a plan view of the tie and a portion of a track-rail secured thereonat one end; and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the rail-clampingblock, taken on'the line 4: 4 in Fig. 3.

A A are two rectangular plates of sheet metal of proper dimensions fortheir use and constitute the body of the tie, to form which fr hey arebent in duplicate shape, as will be described. The plates A, beingrectangular and of suitable height, are bent laterally and oppositely,first at a near their ends, to produce divergent inclined walls a, andare again bent toward eaeh other at a to form the parallel walls 0.At 1) each plate A is bent inwardly at the same angle as at a and thenoutwardly at Z),- forming the converging walls a which conformation ofthe plates produces two hexagonal boxes when said plates are joined bybolts or rivets, as shown.

The parallel walls 0 of the boxes B, defined by the angular corners a b,are of such proportionate length as to afford seats for the track-railsO, and to properly secure the rails in place thereon the edges of theparallel portions 0 are cut away to form overhanging ears 0' thereon,and below said ears level faces 0 whereon the rails may rest, as shownin Fig. 2. The ears 0' are preferably formed on the free edges of theparallel walls 0 near the angular corners Z), and from a point 0 on eachparallel side of the rectangular boxes near the angular corners a thewalls are cutaway to produce inwardly and downwardly inclined faces oredges 0 thereon. The inclined edges on the vertical parallel walls 0extend to a point near the edges of the base-flanges d of thetrack-rails C, and on these inclines the clamping-blocks e are mounted,as will be further explained. If it is desired to make the cross-tiereversible, which may be of use in case the ears 0 are broken off, theopposite edges of the boxes B may be cut into form similar to thatalready described, so that the normally lower side of the tie may becomethe top side when necessary alterations are made to adapt it for suchuse, as will be described.

To afford stability for the tie and a proper base on which it may restwhen in position, base-plates g are provided, which consist of flatblanks of plate metal cut rectangular in form, of a width and length tocorrespond to that of the tie-boxes, but slightly wider than the same,so that when applied and secured on said boxes to afford bottomstherefor their edges will extend a short distance beyond the outer facesof the side walls 0, as shown in Fig. 3. The corners of the base-platesg are each turned up at right angles to the general surface of the same,causing the bentportions g to fit against the walls a a of the boxes B,to which they are afiixed by rivets or similar means. Perforations atproper points 9 may be made near the upper edges of the box walls a aadapted to align with the perforations in the corner portions g of thebase-plate g, which latter may thus be readily reversed and bolted tothe normal top surface of the tie when it is desired to reverse thesame.

The clamping-blocks e are all alike, so that a description of one willsuffice. Referring to Fig. 4, the block shown has a lug e, producedthereon by cutting away the lower surface of one end of the sameinwardly and downwardly, which will provide an inclined lower face forthe lug, thickening the same at its junction with the remaining portionof the block e and adapting said lug to fit upon the top surface of thebase-flange d of the track-rail. The heavy portion of the clamping-blocke is grooved on the lower side in a manner to afford an inclined bottom(2 thereto, which in degree of inclination mates that on the verticalparallel walls a of the crosstie boxes B, so that when there are rails Oplaced on a series of cross-ties properly disposed on a road-bed, andthe clamping-blocks secured in position by the screw-bolts h and nuts h,the clampingeblocks will wedge against the adjacent rail-edges, forcingthe opposite rail-edges under the ears 0', and at the same time clampingthe engaged portions of the base-flanges d firmly upon the crossties.

Owing to the material employed and the manner of construction shown,this metallic cross-tie affords a secure but elastic base fortrack-rails, which will absorb the shock of percussion thereon andincrease the durability of the track-rails, at the same time securingthe advantages incidentally accruing from the employment of metalliccross-ties instead of the ordinary wooden timbers for such service.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A metal cross-tie composed of duplicate metal plates laterally bentnear each end in opposite directions, producing box-like enlargements,which are supported by platemetal bases that conform to the enlargementsand are thereto secured by bolts or rivets, substantially as specified.

2. A metallic cross-tie composed of two rectangular plates of metal bentoppositely near each end, producing lateral recesses thereon which whenjoined form boxes, railseats and integral ears on the top edges of saidboxes adapted to receive and retain track-rails, base-plates attached tothe opposite edges of said boxes, and clamping-blocks adapted to rest onthe top edges of said boxes and wedge the track-rails laterally and holdthem to the tie when the blocks are bolted thereto, substantially as setforth.

3. In a metallic cross-tie, the combination, with two correspondingelongated metal plates having opposite recesses produced in their sidesnear each end, forming boxes when the plates are joined, ears cut on thetop edges of said boxes oppositely, and base-plates attached to theopposite edges of said boxes, of grooved clamping-blocks on said topedges adapted to wedge the rail laterally and clamp it perpendicularlywhen bolted to the tiebody, substantially as set forth.

4. In a metallic cross-tie, the combination, with a tie-body composed oftwo metal plates having boxes bent therefrom, rail-seats on the edges ofsaid boxes, locking-ears integral with said edges, and inclines producedon said edges opposite the locking-ears, of clampingblocks adapted torest on said inclines, and the base-flanges of track-rails,substantially as set forth.

5. In a metallic croes-tie, the combination, with a tie-body composed oftwo metal plates secured together laterally and having boxes formed neareach end, rail-seats and integral ears on the top edges of said boxes,inclines cut opposite the cars on said edges, and baseplates secured onthe opposite edges of said boxes, of clamping-blocks provided with lugsat one end and grooved to engage the inclines.

of the box edges, and bolts securing the clamping-blocks to thetie-body, substantially as set forth.

W'ALTER H. DUTTON.

Witnesses:

EDWARD CUTCLIFFE, NATHANIEL H. CHURonLLL.

